ODOT District 5 PIO Chas Cosgrave photo
The entire project should wrap up by October 2027.
Despite a lack of access to the project and tight working conditions, crews in Ohio continue making progress on the $90 million I-70 reconstruction project. Phase 2 construction began last November and is scheduled to be completed by July 2025.
"It's very challenging to oversee a project of this size with the amount of activity that is going on and with the long project duration," explained Michelle Sidwell, Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) District 5 project engineer. "However, we have a well-established, experienced inspection crew on this project, which greatly helps with managing and overseeing the project.
"With the impact this project has on the traveling public and the city of Zanesville, it's very rewarding to see work continuing and being completed."
ODOT District 5 PIO Chas Cosgrave photo
Shelly & Sands serves as contractor on the project, where motorists are ever mindful of ongoing construction.
"There are two lanes eastbound in contraflow," said Sidwell. "The eastbound passing lane serves as an express lane and, once in it, you cannot exit until after the construction zone. Driving lane has access to downtown Zanesville. There are two lanes of westbound maintained with narrowed lanes. Traffic flow overall is good."
Milestones reached on the project include completion of Phase 1 work, which entailed full depth replacement of the outside lane and shoulder, both eastbound and westbound, as well as construction of median barrier wall and lighting and various bridge rehabilitation of each bridge within the project limits eastbound and westbound.
In addition, the State Street overpass bridge is complete, along with Maple Avenue eastbound on ramp bridge work. Also finished are the Underwood eastbound on ramp, the Underwood westbound off ramp and the State Street eastbound on and off ramps.
Sidwell noted that being responsible for a six-year undertaking is not always easy, adding that one of the main challenges regarding the current phase of work is maintaining access to the eastbound on and off ramps through Zanesville.
Work currently taking place includes bridge reconstruction on four structures and full depth pavement reconstruction. One bridge has already been reconstructed and another has been removed.
Key Phase 2 tasks remaining include completing the Muskingum River Bridge and the 5th Street off ramp, which allows the contractor to close the 7th Street off ramp and gain access to two more bridges and the pavement section between them.
Regarding bridge rehabilitation, out of eight structures that are being worked on in Phase 2, two are completed, one is 90 percent finished and the major Muskingum River bridge is at the halfway point. By the end of this construction season, a half-dozen bridges should be completed.
With so many rehabs, some are more complicated to carry out.
"The biggest concern is the lifespan of the rehabilitation and when new structures will be needed," said Sidwell.
"The most complex is the Muskingum River Bridge, because it's the biggest structure being rehabbed and TAF [Temporary Access Fill AKA causeway] is not allowed in the Muskingum River to work on this bridge.
"This bridge also spans over the multiple rail lines, so coordination with the railroad is required as well. This entails having a railroad flagger on site when work is occurring over or near the rail lines, and their review and acceptance of all work drawings and submittals needed to construct the bridge."
The removal of one structure took place in three phases. It involved a temporary MSE wall constructed in Phase 1 to hold the fill-in.
Main equipment being used at the job site at this time includes excavators, bulldozers, rollers and pickup trucks. Concrete, asphalt, resteel and aggregate are among the chief materials.
Crew members have experienced mild winters for the past two seasons, which has allowed them to work through the colder months and maintain the schedule. The most time-consuming part of the current work is reconstruction of the Muskingum River Bridge. It accounts for half the schedule time. Work on two bridges, as well as some pavement construction, can't start until the Muskingum River bridge is completed.
ODOT District 5 PIO Chas Cosgrave photo
As for unexpected obstacles, said Sidwell, "While we did anticipate this issue, the oversized loads that do not follow their permits have been an issue. With both eastbound lanes being in contraflow, the work zone lane widths do not accommodate any oversized loads and multiple signs have been installed along I-70 EB and within the Zanesville city limits warning the drivers of this.
"There were many oversized loads that used one ramp in particular and either got stuck on the interstate between the barrier wall or had to drive through the contractor's work area prior to the pavement being removed in this section of the project. We also have completed work items damaged from the oversized loads that have attempted to drive through the project in the contraflow lanes, including damaged light poles, light fixtures and median barrier wall."
Even so, Sidwell said it's meaningful to work on a project that serves the general public and also will help ODOT's maintenance forces.
"The traveling public will get a better ride and less maintenance shutdowns once this project is complete. ODOT maintenance crews were constantly on this stretch of interstate patching the failing concrete pavement before this project started, so it is nice to know that after we are done with this project, there will likely only need to be asphalt mill and fill jobs for several decades to come. "
The entire project should wrap up by October 2027. CEG
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